You can file for divorce in Michigan for free by submitting Form MC 20, the Fee Waiver Request, along with your divorce complaint. Michigan Court Rule 2.002 requires courts to waive the standard $175 to $255 filing fee for anyone who receives means-tested public assistance, earns below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, is represented by a legal aid program, or can show that paying would cause genuine financial hardship.1Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules of 1985 – Chapter 2 Civil Procedure – Section: Rule 2.002 Waiver of Fees for Indigent Persons The waiver is requested at the same time you file your case, and if you qualify through public assistance, the clerk approves it on the spot.
Who Qualifies for a Fee Waiver
Michigan Court Rule 2.002 sets out three ways to qualify automatically, plus a discretionary hardship route.
The first path is means-tested public assistance. If you receive Food Assistance (SNAP), Medicaid, the Family Independence Program (TANF), WIC, Supplemental Security Income, or any other means-tested benefit, the court clerk must waive your fees without sending the request to a judge.1Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules of 1985 – Chapter 2 Civil Procedure – Section: Rule 2.002 Waiver of Fees for Indigent Persons Bring proof of your benefits with you when you file.
The second path is representation by a legal aid organization or law school clinic. If a legal services program has taken your case based on your financial situation, your fees are waived automatically. A single call to legal aid can solve both your lawyer problem and your fee problem.
The third path is household income below 125 percent of the federal poverty level. A judge must waive your fees if your gross household income falls under that line. For 2026, the cutoffs are $19,950 for one person, $27,050 for two, $34,150 for three, and $41,250 for four.2HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
If your income is above that line, you can still ask for a waiver by showing financial hardship. A judge reviews these requests and weighs your full financial picture, including debts, medical expenses, and other obligations.3Michigan Courts. Waiver of Fees Approval is not guaranteed, but it’s worth asking if you have significant obligations the raw income figure doesn’t reflect.
What the Waiver Covers and What It Doesn’t
Without a waiver, filing a divorce in Michigan costs at least $175: a $150 civil filing fee plus a $25 electronic filing system fee. Cases involving minor children add an $80 custody and parenting time fee, pushing the total to $255.4Michigan Courts. Circuit Court Fee and Assessments Table An approved waiver covers all of these, including the e-filing fee.
Some divorce costs sit outside the waiver. If you hire a professional process server to deliver papers, that typically runs $60 to $150 out of your own pocket. Mediation fees, which can run $250 to $500 per hour for private sessions, are not covered either, though court-connected mediation programs in some counties offer reduced rates based on income. Certified copies, transcripts, and any required parenting class also come out of pocket.
Before You File: Residency and Grounds
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 consecutive days before you file, and the person filing must have lived in the county of filing for at least 10 days.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.9 – Judgment of Divorce; Residency Requirement; Exception These are jurisdictional, so neither spouse can waive them by agreement. If you recently moved counties, wait out the 10 days before filing.
Michigan is a no-fault state. Your complaint only needs to state that the marriage has broken down to the point where the purposes of the marriage have been destroyed and there is no reasonable chance of saving it.6Michigan Courts. Divorce Proceeding Checklist You don’t have to prove adultery, cruelty, or anything else, and you don’t have to explain why the marriage ended.
The Forms You Need
Three documents get you started:
- Complaint for Divorce, which asks the court to end the marriage and lays out what you’re requesting on property, support, and custody.
- Summons, the formal notice that tells your spouse the case has been filed and gives them a deadline to respond.
- Fee Waiver Request (Form MC 20), which documents your financial situation.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Form MC 20 – Fee Waiver Request
Cases with minor children require additional forms, including a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act Affidavit and documents for the Friend of the Court.
Form MC 20 asks for your gross household income, number of household members, income sources, assets like bank accounts, and monthly obligations such as rent and debt payments.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Form MC 20 – Fee Waiver Request Have a recent tax return or pay stubs in front of you when you fill it out. Inconsistencies between what you put on the waiver and what shows up on your other forms will slow the clerk down and may trigger follow-up questions.
Michigan Legal Help offers a free Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool that walks you through a questionnaire and generates completed forms you can print. You can also download blank SCAO-approved forms directly from the Michigan Courts website.
Filing and Getting the Waiver Approved
File your paperwork with the circuit court clerk in the county where you meet the 10-day residency rule. Many Michigan counties use the MiFILE electronic filing system, which lets you create an account and submit documents online.8Michigan Courts. MiFILE Counties that haven’t adopted MiFILE take originals and copies at the clerk’s window.
Hand the clerk your Fee Waiver Request first. If you qualify through public assistance, the clerk can approve it on the spot. If the request has to go to a judge, there may be a short wait. Once the waiver is granted, the clerk processes your Complaint and Summons without collecting any payment and gives you back stamped copies of the Complaint and a signed Summons with your case number and judge assignment. Hold on to these; you need them for service.
Serving Your Spouse
Your spouse has to be formally notified before the case can move forward. Michigan allows service by any legally competent adult who is not a party to the case, so a friend, relative, or anyone over 18 who isn’t involved can hand-deliver the papers.9Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules of 1985 – Chapter 2 Civil Procedure – Section: Rule 2.103 Process; Who May Serve Using someone you already know keeps your costs down, since the waiver does not pay for a professional process server.
You can also serve by certified mail with return receipt requested, restricted to the addressee.10Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules of 1985 – Chapter 2 Civil Procedure – Section: Rule 2.105 Process; Manner of Service Mail service counts only when your spouse signs the return receipt. The signed receipt attaches to the Proof of Service you file with the court. If your spouse won’t sign or pick up the mail, service by mail has failed and you’ll need to try another method.
Whoever delivered the papers fills out a Proof of Service form and files it with the clerk. Without that document on file, your case stalls regardless of whether your spouse actually got the papers.
If you genuinely cannot locate your spouse, the court can authorize service by publication in a newspaper, but you have to first file a verified motion documenting a diligent search. That’s a narrower path with its own rules.
The Waiting Period Before Finalization
Michigan requires a waiting period between filing and the earliest date a judge can finalize anything. Without minor children, the wait is 60 days from the filing date. With dependent children under 18, it stretches to six months.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 552.9f A judge can shorten the six-month wait to 60 days on a showing of unusual hardship or compelling necessity, but that’s not routinely granted. Build the waiting period into your plan from day one.
After the wait and after your spouse’s response deadline passes (21 days for personal service inside Michigan, 28 days by mail or out of state), the case moves toward a final hearing or a consent judgment, depending on how your spouse responds.
Where to Get Free Help With the Forms
Filing without a lawyer is realistic in a straightforward, uncontested case, and free help is available if you want it. Michigan Legal Help (michiganlegalhelp.org) is a court-supported site with a Do-It-Yourself Divorce tool that generates your forms from a guided questionnaire and gives step-by-step instructions for each stage of the process.
If your situation is more complicated, or if domestic violence is involved, regional legal aid offices across the state provide free representation to people who qualify financially. Legal Aid of Western Michigan, Lakeshore Legal Aid, and Legal Services of Eastern Michigan all handle family law cases including divorce. You can find a provider through the Michigan Legal Help website. Because representation by a legal aid program automatically qualifies you for a fee waiver, that single call can solve the cost problem and the paperwork problem at once.1Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules of 1985 – Chapter 2 Civil Procedure – Section: Rule 2.002 Waiver of Fees for Indigent Persons